Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because it is directed to a program or signal per se when viewed in light of [0016] of Applicant’s Specification.
Applicant’s speciation states: [0016] A computer program product embodiment (“CPP embodiment” or “CPP”) is a term used in the present disclosure to describe any set of one, or more, storage media (also called “mediums”) collectively included in a set of one, or more, storage devices that collectively include machine readable code corresponding to instructions and/or data for performing computer operations specified in a given CPP claim. A “storage device” is any tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by a computer processor. Without limitation, the computer readable storage medium may be an electronic storage medium, a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, an electromagnetic storage medium, a semiconductor storage medium, a mechanical storage medium, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Some known types of storage devices that include these mediums include: diskette, hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disk (DVD), memory stick, floppy disk, mechanically encoded device (such as punch cards or pits/lands formed in a major surface of a disc) or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as that term is used in the present disclosure, is not to be construed as storage in the form of transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide, light pulses passing through a fiber optic cable, electrical signals communicated through a wire, and/or other transmission media. As will be understood by those of skill in the art, data is typically moved at some occasional points in time during normal operations of a storage device, such as during access, de-fragmentation or garbage collection, but this does not render the storage device as transitory because the data is not transitory while it is stored.
Examiner notes the difference between Applicant’s distinction between a “storage device” which must be tangible.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-5, 8-12, and 15-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Anderson 2022/0413788 hereinafter, Anderson.
In regards to claim 1, Anderson teaches a method for configuring multiple displays connected to (abstract)
Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to map multi-display positions. An example apparatus includes processor circuitry to cause a first display to present a first image, cause a second display to present a second image, detect a first reflection based on the first image, detect a second reflection based on the second image, and determine a position of the first display relative to the second display based on the first reflection and the second reflection
a common computing system, the method comprising (fig. 1 (100)):
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detecting, by a computing system, a plurality of displays connected thereto (fig. 1 (102)) and (122s));
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causing, by the computing system, at least one of the plurality of displays to emit a lighting pattern (fig. 3a (310) [0018-0025]);
detecting, by the computing system, the lighting pattern using at least one camera connected to the computing system (fig. 2 (102) and [0022-0030]; and
[0022] The camera 102 captures images when the light is displayed on the display 104 and/or the external display 122. The images from the camera 102 include the user positioned in front of the electronic device 100 and the external device 122. Example images or portions of images are shown in FIGS. 2A-2C. The images include a reflection of the light displayed on the display 104 and/or the external display 122. For example, FIG. 2A shows an image 200 captured by the camera 102. The image 200 includes a right eye 202 of the user with a right iris 204 (on the left side of FIG. 2A) and a left eye 206 of the user with a left iris 208 (on the right side of FIG. 2A). A reflection 210 of light is shown in both irises 204, 208.
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inferring, by the computing system, a physical arrangement of the plurality of displays from the detected lighting pattern (fig. 2c 262 and 260) [29-0035].
[0030] The camera 102 captures images of the user when the light is presented on the displays 104, 122. The application 114 activates the reflection analysis circuitry 118 to access, receive, obtain, and/or otherwise acquire images from the camera 102. The reflection analysis circuitry 118 detects reflected light from the skin of the user. In this example, the first color presented on the display 104 creates a first reflection 260 illustrated in FIG. 2C by straight surface lines on the user's face. The second color presented on the external display 122 creates second reflection 262 illustrated in FIG. 2C by dots on the user's face. In this example, the first reflection 260 and the second reflection 262 correspond to the different colors respectively presented on the displays 104, 122. Based on what side of the user's face the reflection 260, 262 appears, the reflection analysis circuitry 118 can determine the relative position of the display 104 and the external display 122. For example, because the reflection 260 corresponds to the color of light presented on the display 104 and the reflection 260 appears on the left side of the user's face (to the right in FIG. 2C), the reflection analysis circuitry 118 determines that the display 104 is positioned on the user's left. Similarly, because the reflection 262 corresponds to the color of light presented on the external display 122 and the reflection 262 appears on the right side of the user's face (to the left in FIG. 2C), the reflection analysis circuitry 118 determines that the display 104 is positioned on the user's right. In some examples, the brightness and/or intensity of color based on one or more parameters including, for example, a user's age, skin tone, facial hair, hairstyle, clothing on or around the head and/or face, etc. As noted above, with the relative position of the displays 104, 122 determined, the application 114 updates the settings of the operating system 110, and the operating system 110 extends the working area of the computer screen, desktop, and/or computer user interface across the displays 104, 122 based on the relative position of the displays 104, 122.
In regards to claim 8, Anderson teaches acomputer program product for configuring multiple displays connected to a common computing system, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied therein(fig. 1 (102)) and (122s)), the computer-usable program code configured to perform the following when executed by at least one processor: detect, by a computing system, a plurality of displays connected thereto; cause(fig. 3a (310) [0018-0025]);, by the computing system, at least one of the plurality of displays to emit a lighting pattern; detect, by the computing system, (fig. 2 (102) and [0022-0030]; the lighting pattern using at least one camera connected to the computing system; and infer, by the computing system, a physical arrangement of the plurality of displays from the detected lighting pattern. (fig. 2c 262 and 260) [29-0035].
In regards to claim 15, Anderson teaches a system for configuring multiple displays connected to a common computing system, the system comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory device operably coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions for execution on the at least one processor, the instructions causing the at least one processor to: detect(fig. 1 (102)) and (122s)), the, by a computing system, a plurality of displays connected thereto; cause, by the computing system, at least one of the plurality of displays to emit a lighting pattern(fig. 3a (310) [0018-0025]); detect, by the computing system, the lighting pattern using at least one camera connected to the computing system; and infer(fig. 2 (102) and [0022-0030]; , by the computing system, a physical arrangement of the plurality of displays from the detected lighting pattern. (fig. 2c 262 and 260) [29-0035].
In regards to claim 2, Anderson teaches method of claim 1, wherein the lighting pattern comprises sequentially displaying a selected background color and/or pattern on each of the plurality of displays [0021-0030] (fig. 3a (300-325)).Examiner because of the “or” operator only one element is needed to read on the claims.
In regards to claim 3, Anderson teaches method of claim 1, wherein the lighting pattern comprises a first lighting pattern to infer relative horizontal positions of the plurality of displays, and a second lighting pattern to infer relative vertical positions of the plurality of displays [0024-0031, 0082]. “[0031] In some examples, there are multiple external displays 122. The external displays 122 can be positioned horizontally (e.g., left and/or right) and/or vertically (e.g., higher and/or lower) relative to the display 104. In some examples, the reflection analysis circuitry 118 determines the relative position of the multiple external displays 122 based using sequences of light, assessing different quadrants or hemispheres of a user's eyes, glasses, face, and/or head where reflections appear and/or via other techniques disclosed herein”
In regards to claim 4, Anderson teaches method of claim 1, wherein the at least one camera is physically incorporated into at least one of the plurality of displays (fig. 102 and 100)(fig. 1 102 and fig. 2c laptop with camera).
In regards to claim 5, Anderson teaches method of claim 1, wherein inferring the physical arrangement comprises using artificial intelligence to infer the physical arrangement [0054,0069]. “In some such examples, the configuration circuitry 604 may obtain the machine readable instructions from a user, a machine (e.g., hardware circuitry (e.g., programmed or dedicated circuitry) that may implement an Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) model to generate the instructions)”,[0069]
In regards to claim 9, Anderson teaches computer program product of claim 8, wherein the lighting pattern comprises sequentially displaying a selected background color and/or pattern on each of the plurality of displays. [0021,0029,0031] (fig. 3a (300-325 “Also, in other examples, the light presented on the display 104 and the light presented on the external display 122 may be presented at different times such as, for example, in sequence and/or partially overlapping in time” [0029.)).
In regards to claim 10, Anderson teaches computer program product of claim 8, wherein the lighting pattern comprises a first lighting pattern to infer relative horizontal positions of the plurality of displays, and a second lighting pattern to infer relative vertical positions of the plurality of displays. [0021,0029,0031] (fig. 3a (300-325)).
In regards to claim 11, Anderson teaches computer program product of claim 8, wherein the at least one camera is physically incorporated into at least one of the plurality of displays. (fig. 102 and 100)(fig. 1 102).
In regards to claim 12, Anderson teaches computer program product of claim 8, wherein inferring the physical arrangement comprises using artificial intelligence to infer the physical arrangement. [0054,0069].
In regards to claim 16, Anderson teaches system of claim 15, wherein the lighting pattern comprises sequentially displaying a selected background color and/or pattern on each of the plurality of displays. [0021] (fig. 3a (300-325)).
In regards to claim 17, Anderson teaches system of claim 15, wherein the lighting pattern comprises a first lighting pattern to infer relative horizontal positions of the plurality of displays, and a second lighting pattern to infer relative vertical positions of the plurality of displays[0024-0031].
In regards to claim 18, Anderson teaches system of claim 15, wherein inferring the physical arrangement comprises using artificial intelligence to infer the physical arrangement. [0054,0069].
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 6-7, 13-14, and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Anderson in view of Nangeroni et al (2023/0370689) hereinafter, Nangeroni.
In regards to claim 6, Anderson fails to teach the method of claim 5, further comprising enabling a user to manually tune the inferred physical arrangement. Examiner notes Anderson teaches [0013] Typically, when a user of an electronic device such as, for example, a laptop personal computer (PC), connect to one or more external displays, the user opens the settings applications and instructs the operating system of the electronic device as to which side of the display of the electronic the external display is positioned. That is, the user instructs the operating system as to the relative positioning of the display of the electronic device and the external display. This is repeated for multiple external displays. This task is becoming more commonly needed as business users have hybrid desks (shared desks where users do not sit every day) where the users connect their PCs to one or more external displays. Also, some products enable shared wireless screens where smartphones, tablets, watches, and/or other devices project onto television and/or computer screens in cross-screen scenarios and the connection and positions of the different screens are to be mapped.
However, Nangeroni teaches further comprising enabling a user to manually tune the display [0046, 113-114].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Anderson to further include further comprising enabling a user to manually tune the inferred physical arrangement as taught by Namgeroni in order to allow for the user to fine tune and to allow for optimized display settings particularly with a machine learning model (abstract,[002-004])
In regards to claim 7, Anderson in view of Nangeroni method of claim 6, further comprising using the manual tuning of the user to further train the artificial intelligence (abstract, [0046, 0055,0062,113-114])Nangeroni.
In regards to claim 13, Anderson in view of Nangeroni, see rational of claim 6, teaches the computer program product of claim 12, wherein the computer-usable program code is further configured to enable a user to manually tune the inferred physical arrangement. (abstract, [0046, 0055,0062,113-114])Nangeroni.
In regards to claim 14, Anderson in view of Nangeroni computer program product of claim 13, wherein the computer-usable program code is further configured to use the manual tuning to further train the artificial intelligence. (abstract, [0046, 0055,0062,113-114])Nangeroni.
In regards to claim 19, Anderson in view of Nangeroni, see rational of claim 6, teaches system of claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to enable a user to manually tune the inferred physical arrangement. (abstract, [0046, 0055,0062,113-114])Nangeroni.
In regards to claim 20, Anderson in view of Nangeroni system of claim 19, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to use the manual tuning to further train the artificial intelligence. (abstract, [0046, 0055,0062,113-114])Nangeroni.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GRANT SITTA whose telephone number is (571)270-1542. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:00.
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/GRANT SITTA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2622
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